


Intertwined

by Junibyou



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Food, Makeup, Romance, karin has dumb gay bitch disease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:35:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25067767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junibyou/pseuds/Junibyou
Summary: Karin invites Kasumi over for lunch and some bonding time. Is that too much to ask for? For Kasumi's heart, it may be.
Relationships: Asaka Karin/Nakasu Kasumi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	Intertwined

Kasumi hums a mild tune, her chest swelling with pride as she pulls out her beautifully golden bread knots. They’ve puffed up to just the perfect height with a delicious glistening surface. While it was quite a pain to wake up early just to make a bunch of small knots, the results of her hard work were definitely worth it. They’ll be worth even more once she puts on the finishing glazes, the sweet cherry on top of the mountain of bread she’s made. She’ll forgive Karin for making plans on their day off just this once.

In all honesty, she just had an intense itch to experiment a bit with her baking. What better target than a fellow idol who’s whole schtick is her sexy body? She’ll see if her newest baking recipe is a success, get all the compliments for being such a loving junior, and take down one of her rivals in the meantime! It’s a serious win-win no matter what. She’ll target Karin from the inside - the excess amounts of carbohydrates and calories in this batch will cause some weight gain for sure. Now, that’s if it works the way she wants it to. There’s also a possibility that her bread will just make Karin’s hips wider, her chest bigger, and her smooth thighs—

“ _Focus_!” Kasumi shouts, smacking her cheeks with her palms. This forceful action jolts her back into the cold reality where the world of idols is ruthless and unforgiving. She can’t possibly be distracted during the prime of their lives like this! The young girl pulls her phone out from the drawer of the kitchen island, safe from any stray foodstuffs that may damage the smart device. With a few swipes and a click, she begins the familiar beeping of a video call dial. Kasumi hurries the phone to a stable resting position, keeping her bread and her cute face in the portrait shot.

The phone dials, dials, and dials, and eventually ends as the message “Asaka Karin is unavailable” pops up with a faded screen. Kasumi pouts, marching up to her phone to hit the “call back” button once more. The sight of her own disgruntled face is not a pretty one but it’s Karin’s fault! How dare she ignore her lovely underclassman?

It’s not in vain, however. Her phone rings twice before being answered, her own screen on her phone shrinking into the corner as the call is answered.

“Hello?” A low voice comes through the speakers, the image on her phone a pitch black.

“Karin-senpai! It’s a video call, a video call! Take your phone away from your ear!”

Kasumi hears a grumble, the phone moving back to reveal…

Karin’s grumpy face. Her eyes are barely open, brows furrowed in anger. According to the shine on her bottom lip and the dark spot on her pillow, it seems like she was in a deep sleep and drooled everywhere. Her covers are just under her chin, wrapped tightly around her in a comfortable cocoon. Kasumi has never seen her bare face before. She even exercises in makeup! If people who saw Karin in magazines looked at her now, they’d probably pass out. On top of that, Karin had more moles than she previously thought scattered on her face. They’re small, but… cute. Really cute. They almost look like stars—

Wait.

“Did you forget our plans for today? I just finished getting ready!”

Karin grumbles again. A hand reaches up to rub the sleep and crud out of her eyes, her fingers running to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. She keeps her eyes closed, the sunlight peeking from her windows and the light from her phone becoming too much for her unadjusted eyes. “Plans…? Today?”

“Yes ‘today,’ you moron! You said to come over around this time! I’m calling to see if you’re ready!”

“I don’t… Shizuku, you’re so loud.”

“It’s Kasumi! I can’t believe you!”

Kasumi puffs her cheeks in annoyance. How could she forget when she was the one who asked for her to come over? She’s lucky she didn’t just show up at her front door! A glance at the clock on her oven states ten in the morning, which shouldn’t be too early for a school idol.

Her phone beeps a familiar beep. Her gaze moves toward her screen, showing Karin had abruptly ended their call. Now she’s really pissed. How rude could she possibly be?

Well, it’s not all bad. At least she’s learned another one of Karin’s weaknesses! Maybe she could spend a few more minutes plotting on how to sabotage her from within. If she's not good with wake up calls, how can she use that to her advantage? A giggle suddenly erupts from her chest, quieting down immediately when she realizes it’s much too cute for something malicious. She’ll have to practice that too.

* * *

“Gooooood morning, KasuKasu!”

“It’s nearly noon.”

“And still the morning!” Karin ushers the junior inside, the door closing behind them with a click. “Welcome to my humble home! Make yourself comfortable wherever you’d like.”

“You live here alone?” Kasumi wonders aloud, placing her shoes neatly to the side. While there was a massive rack of shoes, they were all ones that she’s seen Karin wear. Is she in this entire house alone?

“For the sake of this story, yes I do.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing~” Karin says in a sing-song tone, “You can set your stuff down and meet me in the kitchen. I’ll bring out our lunch!”

Kasumi walks in and takes a look around the living room as Karin disappears around the corner. There’s a few photos here and there, bookshelves filled with magazines and photobooks. On the table, she can even see a small image in the corner of Karin herself modeling a western-style outfit. While she’s not the main focus, it was still a feat to get on the front cover. Didn’t she say she was just an amateur?

Her stomach rumbles. She hasn’t eaten anything since her early breakfast. Taking the paper bag loaded with her fresh bread, she wanders over to the kitchen. She glances at Karin, who’s smooth and confident movements seem to enchant her. Kasumi places her bag on the table and takes a seat, a bit of excitement starting to rush through her as her senior approaches with two plates in hand.

Karin gingerly places the plate in front of the other girl first, boasting a large grin. “I made pasta! I hope you like it. They say food tastes best when made with lots of love~”

God. She's so embarrassing.

With cherry tomatoes strewn about the sauce alongside fresh basil, the pasta is twirled nicely into a neat pile, giving a simple yet elegant look. The delicious-looking meal is placed on a dark ceramic plate with gold marbling. Kasumi notes that almost all of Karin’s housewares are dark in color, being able to highlight the portions of her food and discourage her from grabbing more than necessary. A subtle yet effective dieting trick. Not like it matters since Kasumi is practically drooling from the gorgeous presentation. If she’s not careful, she might eat more than Karin and her whole plan will backfire.

It might be worth it though.

“I will! Thank you for the food!” With a few strands rolled onto her fork, Kasumi happily takes a bite.

_Shit, this tastes bad_.

Kasumi almost wants to gag, or spit it out, or _something_ , but she puts all of her energy into chewing normally. Not too fast but not too slow, and forcing the food to stay away from her taste buds as much as possible. Would it be easier to swallow the pasta in small doses or just inhale it and pretend she’s chewing? The effort and pressure is starting to make her sweat. Karin is so pretty and claimed her only weakness was finding directions. How could it be this gross? On closer inspection to the food, the sauce that blends in so well with the light colored pasta is actually broken. Too much butter? Oil? Was it a combination of both? Either way, it looks like a river of butter with the cream as the algae. With how pale the sauce is, it's possible that very little cooking was done in preparation of it. And the more she chews, the more she realizes that there's a high probability of _raw garlic_ in the sauce. _And a lot of it_.

“You said… _urgh_ , cooking class was your specialty, right?”

“Oh! Did you watch my interview? Yes yes, I sure do look nice in an apron~ all the cute girls in my class love to pair up with me and show how grown they are by taking over. It's so cute!”

_I can see why_. Kasumi rolls some more pasta onto her fork, watching the greasy sauce fall off the starchy vessel. “Do you cook a lot for yourself, Karin-senpai?”

Karin swallows her own bite and hums, thinking about her previous experiences. Is she eating this with no problem? “Not really. A lot of my diet is raw vegetables since I can just toss them together and eat before I go anywhere. They burn off a lot faster too. A model’s figure is extremely important, you see.”

Kasumi can’t tell how much of that is fact. Actually, with the plate of pasta that she's trying so desperately to finish, she doesn't know if she can ever listen to Karin talk about food ever again. When there’s a strange crunchy texture on her next bite, the sharp aroma of raw onion filling her mouth, her eyes immediately water with regret. Despite her sense of taste screaming for her to stop, she eats as much pasta on her plate as physically possible.

“It’s so good, Karin-senpai!” Kasumi lies through her teeth and tears, “We have to cook together next time, okay? You have to promise me!” For her stomach’s sake too!

“Alright, alright~ And while we’re at it, let’s have a taste of your bread!” Karin gingerly picks out a little knot from the paper bag, letting out a small gasp at its size. “Wait, you made these this morning!?”

“I sure did!” The ash-haired girl puffs her chest with pride, temporarily forgetting her dish from Hell. “If you were making pasta, I wasn’t going to lose to you! I had to bring in something different today!”

“Oh, KasuKasu!” Karin coos, the nickname grating her ears. “You’re the sweetest! I’m sure they’ll be delicious. They’re made by the cutest idol in the world, after all.”

The compliment would usually be taken without complaints, but this time felt… different. It made Kasumi genuinely happy with the jolt of joy it sent through her body. The kind warmth filling her heart was an unusual feeling.

Karin takes a bite, eyes widening in surprise at the taste. “There’s cheese in this one!”

“That’s not all! Some are plain but some others also have sausage in them! Bask in the glory of my hard work!”

Her elder lets out a delighted noise. “I will!”

* * *

The bathroom door shuts with a light _click_. Kasumi rests her head on the wooden door for just a moment with her hand still on the cool doorknob, regaining her strength. Turning to the bathroom sink, she jumps with shock at the messy sight. It was almost like a makeup store vomited all over the counter.

Only a handful of items are actually still open, however. With delicate fingers, she picks up the glass bottle of foundation. Her heart begins to fill with envy as she notices the expensive brand name, along with a limited edition blender covered in said foundation. Was that a bottle of primer infused with _actual gold_ in her collection? She has the money for a small bottle of primer worth _six thousand yen_ from a luxury brand!?

It’s not like everything is perfect though. The eyeshadow palette left open has some cracked shades, the mirror smudged horribly with fingerprints all over. The small brushes left near the palette carry traces of natural shades - probably what Karin is wearing now. There’s even tissues nearly soaked with her foundation and concealer and prints left all over. Did she just slap her foundation on with her fingers instead of using a brush? It would explain some spots on her face today that seem unblended or just had too much layered on, anyways.

The more unnatural shades being nearly untouched doesn’t miss Kasumi’s notice. Karin always looked so perfect, as if she woke up every single day with styled hair and just a hint of color on her lids and lips. With all the products that she assumes were used in the rush Karin went through after her rude awakening, it was far from her expectations.Probably like many others, she thought Karin would just look at a makeup stand and appear even more beautiful than usual. But it also showed that Karin was as imperfect as she is.

A sigh escapes Kasumi, which suddenly and violently reminds her of why she’s in there. The aromatic nightmare that Karin made. Kasumi furiously digs into her bag for her disposable toothbrush.

* * *

“What in God’s name are you doing.”

Kasumi is in absolute disbelief at the sight she returned to. The paper bag she carried the bread in was neatly folded flat on the table, its contents definitely in Karin’s stomach. Not like the criminal can say anything with her face flat on the table.

“Did you eat all of the bread?”

No response.

“You ate all of it, didn’t you?”

A muffled ‘yes’ comes from Karin’s lifeless body. Kasumi sighs. Her plan to have Karin eat all of the bread succeeded, but it’s not gonna make her feel good if she gets sick over eating it too quickly. She takes a seat next to her beloved senior and gently braids a few locks of her hair to pass the time.

“I saw your makeup in the bathroom. A lot of those products have been on my wishlist for a while.”

“I didn’t put those away!?” Karin starts as she sits back up with a jolt, scaring the life out of Kasumi in the meantime. She groans as her stomach protests her sudden movements, resting her head back on the table. “Ah, well. You’d see it someday. Better sooner than later.”

“Let’s just talk for now while you remember why eating all of those carbs in one sitting is a bad idea.” Kasumi takes her hair back into her hands, resuming her work.

* * *

“I’m so glad we can finally do our makeup together!” Karin exclaims with delight, putting down her final armful of products recklessly on the table. The sheer volume of her collection made Kasumi sweat. Was it out of envy or anxiety? There were so many products from artists she’s never heard of, some from overseas, lots from luxury brands, and a load of them being branded with “limited edition” on the packages. Karin also places down a large adjustable mirror for Kasumi, giving a light tap on the base. The mirror’s edge begins shining brightly.

“You have portrait mirrors!?” Kasumi matches Karin’s volume. These were only things she’s seen with idols in studios! There were smaller versions that even a teenager can afford? And she didn’t know about them? Was she living under a rock?

“Of course! Seeing every little detail is really important to me.” Karin pulls her bangs up with a shower band, black kitty ears standing proudly on her head. “What do you like to start with, Kasumi?”

“Um…” Kasumi hesitates. Her own makeup bag is extremely miniscule in comparison to Karin’s luxurious collection and doesn’t even have nearly the same range. An idea pops into her head. “Karin- _senpai_ , won’t you do my makeup for me? I can’t learn unless you’re teaching me personally!” Her voice is sickly sweet and it seems to convince Karin, who takes off her headband and turns off the mirror’s light in response.

“Oh well, it can’t be helped. I’ll teach you _everything_ you need to know. How about we start with moisturizing?” Karin grabs a bottle that’s nearly half empty, showcasing how much she uses it. With a quick motion, she straddles Kasumi and pushes her back against the couch. The sudden close contact makes Kasumi’s heart skip a beat, then race a mile a minute. It doesn’t help that she gets a close up view of the bare skin exposed by Karin’s off shoulder shirt. It’s loose enough that it seems to slip a little more than usual when she inspects her face so closely.

“This will be a little cold, okay?” Karin warns her as she squeezes a small amount of lotion on her fingers. The scent is sweet and rich, instantly filling Kasumi’s nose as it’s rubbed so lightly on her face. Karin works in small layers, her first target being the forehead she likes to literally poke fun at. Soon it’s the center of her face, her frame, and her cheeks. The lotion is massaged ever so gently into her skin just a little at a time. Karin giggles at its extremely soft texture. “Your mochi cheeks are so cute, Kasumin.”

Said girl is snapped out of her trance from the compliment, having spent the entire time gazing into Karin’s eyes. They were so kind, almost giving her an image of the night sky. If it weren’t for Karin saying something, she may have stayed seated there forever. It nearly feels like she wants that too, the heat leaving her lap giving her a pang of loneliness. Those feelings don’t last forever, however, as Karin quickly swipes up the bottle of primer she eyed earlier.

“This is my favorite primer! It helps a lot on days my skin feels really textured.” With the same gentleness as before, Karin rubs in small layers and layers of the expensive product along Kasumi’s face. “It doesn’t seem like you need a lot though. Your skin is so smooth, I’m really jealous.”

Now Kasumi truly couldn’t respond. Even though Karin had only applied two steps of skincare, it felt like she knew every single aspect of her face. Was she staring as intently at her face as she was? There wasn’t any time to ponder the question as Karin brings a handful of bottles to the sofa.

“Please don’t tell me you start your base with a concealer.” Karin squeezes just a small amount of foundation on the back of her hand, mixing it and warming it up with her fingers before applying it to Kasumi’s face.

“Uh.”

“I can’t believe you,” Karin lets out a small giggle despite her previous serious tone. “Start your base with foundation and use a concealer to cover any spots the foundation couldn’t. That’s why they’re called _foundation_ and _concealer_.”

“Alright, I got it!” Kasumi puffs her cheeks in annoyance, which Karin takes as an opportunity to smear on the liquid as quickly as she can.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t need any concealer for you at all, actually! We can move on from the base makeup.” Karin leaves Kasumi’s lap once more, searching through her massive pile. “What kind of look do you want to do today? Do you want something natural or something really loud?”

In all honesty, it didn’t matter to Kasumi. The way Karin’s smooth fingers worked against her skin felt so good that she could do whatever she liked and Kasumi would be okay with it. “You can choose for me! Let’s play around today.”

Kasumi swears that she sees stars appear in Karin’s eyes.

* * *

“I’ve finished washing up.” Kasumi announces, dabbing off the last bit of water from her jawline with a towel provided by Karin.

“Six hours of just practicing makeup on you. I’d say you owe me, but your adorable face is payment enough.”

“Oh, stop it.” Kasumi playfully throws the towel at Karin, who laughs it off and tosses the towel on the sofa. “You owe _me_ for not even recognizing my voice when I called!”

“I said I was sorry!”

Kasumi fakes a pout. Karin says no complaints, just taking her puffed cheeks in between her fingers and giving them a light squeeze. The two laugh in harmony, both of them knowing Kasumi could never hold a grudge against Karin.

“Come on, it’s time to go home. I’ll see you off.”

Kasumi nods and slips on her bag, heading to the entrance with Karin in tow. A smile spreads on her face as the fresh memories of today run through her head as she puts on her shoes. She’s never had so much fun before. Was it because it’s Karin?

“Thanks for having me over!” The junior says over her shoulder, a hand already on the doorknob. “Today was really fun! Let’s do it again sometime.”

“Wait just a moment,” Karin steps closer, taking a hold of Kasumi’s free hand. “Can I spend just a little more time with you?”

Huh. Karin is usually so bold and acts on her own accord. What’s with the sudden shyness? Kasumi releases the doorknob and takes a step towards Karin.

“What is it?” Kasumi asks initially, but seems to understand when Karin gives her hand a small squeeze, the other reaching up to her face.

Her slender fingers delicately trace her jawline, moving back to bury themselves in her hair. Karin drags a fingertip in the shell of Kasumi’s ear, producing a mild squeak from the junior. She brushes a few stray strands away from her face and rubs Kasumi’s bottom lip with her thumb, slowly pulling their faces closer together.

Kasumi’s heart thuds loudly in her chest. This kind of development was extremely unexpected, but how could she resist? Karin is gorgeous and ridiculously charismatic, and with today’s events, how could she not fall for her even just a little? Her free hand grabs onto the elder’s sweater, her head starting to rise into the clouds as her eyelids flutter shut, the last image she sees being Karin’s glossed lips.

Karin’s grip becomes stronger as she lets out a strong exhale, eliciting a scream and a shove from Kasumi.

“I knew it! There _was_ too much garlic in the pasta!”

“That doesn't mean you can just _breathe_ in my face!” Kasumi waves her hands wildly in front of herself, trying to fan away the strong scent. Earlier was fine due to all of the scented products but now she’s had a full blast of the garlic horror. Her heart was on the verge of exploding, for nothing! “What was the point of that!?”

“You said it was good!”

“And _you_ ate it like it was nothing! How could I possibly tell you it was bad!?”

“You should’ve done so anyways!” Karin lets out a whining noise and lightly stomps in place. “You ate so much of it! I wish you told me! I don’t know how my food tastes!”

Her sulking was incredibly cute. Kasumi couldn’t resist giving her a comforting hug, which Karin quickly reciprocates. Seems like she’s quick to recover even when she acts like a child. It’s so cute.

“I’m so glad you still ate it for my sake though. I love you so much.” Karin places a tender kiss upon Kasumi’s forehead. “I promise I won't bully you like that again. Our next date will be a lot better.”

Geez. She doesn't know how much more teasing she can take if it's going to escalate into scenarios like this. There's no way her heart can survive just a moment more with Karin. Her doctor would seriously freak out over how much Karin makes her heart jump.

But the words echo in her head.

Next date.

“Hold on,” Kasumi places a hand over Karin’s mouth, preventing her from giving her a kiss on the lips. “Since when were we dating?”

That question definitely shocks Karin, a dumbfounded look spreading on her face. “W— We’re not? I thought we’ve— But weeks ago, you—”

Okay. She definitely doesn’t have a good memory but Kasumi for sure would know if she agreed to date Karin. Especially _Karin_ , of all people in their massive school. It could’ve been someone that loved gently like Emma, someone extremely caring like Kanata, or someone with _at least a stable head on their shoulders_ like Ayumu. But Karin? None of those. As far as the constantly teased first year knows before today, anyways. When Karin presses her forehead against Kasumi’s in disappointment, the memories suddenly rush into her head.

* * *

Oh lord. Oh god. Oh _fuck_.

Kasumi gasps and gasps for air, yet the pain in her chest doesn’t calm down in the slightest. Her knees buckle and give out under the crushing weight of her exhausted body, the school idol collapsing on the hard wooden floor of the practice room.

“Haah…! Ha! I won!” Karin raises her arms in victory despite trembling as much as her junior. She lays down next to Kasumi, her flushed skin relaxing at the touch of the cool floor. Thanks to her modeling job, she has just a hair’s worth of stamina exceeding Kasumi’s. It’s honestly a miracle how long they’ve both lasted, she must admit. “And now… you get to listen to a request of mine!”

“What… whatever…” Kasumi puffs and pants, putting her towel over her eyes to block out the blinding fluorescent lights. “Just… what could you possibly want from me… that you’d go through all of this?”

“A date, of course.” Karin laughs, reaching over for their water bottles.

“Very funny.”

“I’m serious!” The elder insists, pushing the cold bottle against Kasumi’s cheek. “Let’s go on a date to the aquarium, just the two of us.”

* * *

No. No, no, no. That should’ve been a joke. It was only because she mentioned wanting to go to the aquarium someday when she had time off idol practice. Karin just took her to fulfill her wish, as a dutiful upperclassman should. And the planetarium, and the Sky Tree, and the museum, and the ferris wheel, and…

Oh.

“Ever since that silly dance off?”

Karin nods and crosses her arms in defense, looking so utterly vulnerable after her mortifying realization. Her cheeks were practically on fire at that point. “I thought you just wanted to take it slow. I didn’t… want to pressure you, after all.”

Kasumi rubs her arm awkwardly. She _definitely_ wasn’t expecting this development.

“Sorry, let’s forget all of this. We’ll just hang out as a group from now on.” Karin turns around, ready to spend the rest of the night moping after Kasumi leaves on her own. When she feels familiar arms wrap around her waist, her confusion is only furthered along.

“Don’t apologize.” Kasumi mutters against her back. She wants to say, ‘It’s not like I’m against the idea,’ but the words refuse to leave her throat. Especially when she can feel how much Karin is struggling to not tremble in her arms.

The following silence is almost deafening. Even so, Kasumi couldn’t bring herself to say anything else. All she could do was feel Karin’s quick pulse through her flesh, keeping her arms wrapped around her in consolidation as much as she could.

“Can I see your face?” Karin whispers.

“Just a bit more. I… just want to hold you a little longer.”

A few beats later, Kasumi finally releases her, allowing her to turn towards her direction. Karin’s soft hands caress her face once more, her touch as gentle as a feather, as if she's afraid of hurting her. With how vulnerable the two are at this very moment, they may as well be as fragile as glass. The yearning look in Karin’s eyes is almost painful. How long has she hidden away these feelings of hers? How long has she resisted expressing the love she held so dearly for her? The answer may never come to Kasumi. However, she can respond to those feelings now. Her own hands reach up to her shoulders, pulling her down for a kiss.

It's quick, light, and one could say they barely touched at all. Even so, there’s a spark that is definitely felt by both parties. The hint of Karin’s cherry lip gloss still lingers on Kasumi’s lips as they separate. The sensation seems to be too much for the elder as a feverish-looking blush spreads across her face like wildfire. She turns her gaze away and takes Kasumi’s hands off her body. Her movements are achingly slow, almost screaming for just a moment’s more of contact.

“You should… be getting home soon. We have practice tomorrow.”

“Karin-senpai, I—”

“Don’t,” Karin puts a finger over Kasumi’s lips, shushing the younger girl with a singular motion. She resists the shudder threatening to run down her spine as the warmth her smooth flesh heats up her hand. As much as she wanted to claim those lips, this entire situation was created by a misunderstanding. There’s no way she could let tonight continue. “Get some rest. Let’s put today behind us.”

There was no more discussion to be had. Kasumi knew that. All she could do now is exit her home without another word.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you guys know that Karin canonically lives in the Nijigasaki dorms with Emma? I didn't know that until I finished 75% of this, and I made a promise to my drunk self (who wrote part of this) that I would publish it. I'd also like to give my deepest gratitude to stealyourfood on AO3 who watched me suffer during the making of this fanfic. Her dumb gay bitch disease really helped fuel me.


End file.
